I-77 is a motorist’s worst nightmare Tuesday due to pedestrian death, construction

Interstate 77 has become a motorists worst nightmare on Tuesday morning, with a pedestrian death blocking all northbound lanes at the Clanton Road exit, and roadwork blocking lanes northbound at the Brookshire Freeway.

Those northbound lanes near Clanton Road reopened at 10:30 a.m., but traffic was backed up for three miles.

On I-77 at the Brookshire, overnight construction work took longer than expected because of equipment issues, N.C. Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jen Thompson said. Equipment on the site was not sufficient to clean the pavement following overnight construction activity.

Traffic was snarled there through part of rush hour. But the two lanes between Interstate 277 and LaSalle Street re-opened around 7:45 a.m., Thompson said

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She said the lead contractor, Sugar Creek construction, will be assessed a penalty by N.C. DOT because of the delays.

The pedestrian death has all northbound lanes blocked just south of the Clanton Road exit. The accident happened about 5 a.m. and involved someone who had been hit in the far right lane. An 18-wheeler with a flatbed trailer was parked along the side of the road, suggesting it was involved.

As a result of the death, northbound lanes between Woodlawn and Clanton road exists were expected to stay closed until noon, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.